Hey, look its that Kovalchuk guy but we are not spotlighting him, just a New Jersey Devils blog on Bloguin.
My fandom cannot be questioned so it makes sense now to go with the team I call home and a favorite to my heart, the New Jersey Devils. As I am still getting to gradually know all the Bloguin bloggers…naturally I still gravatate toward a Devils blog. It is a weakness, I admit it. AJ and Darren keep me more than up to speed with all the latest Devils news that even I miss. Hey it happens. Also, they add a unique column to their blog with their offseason preview of Devils opponents for the upcoming season.
Here is some of what you are missing if you do not read Running With The Devils.
For example here is the preview of the Buffalo Sabres in its almost entirety, oops!
Devils vs. Sabres – This Season’s Matchup
The Devils and the Sabres will once again face each other four times during the regular season. The schedule makers put three of their four matchups early in the season, as the teams will have 75 percent of their season series finished before December.
The Sabres didn’t make several big splashes in free agency this summer. After losing Henrik Tallinder to the Devils, the team signed Jordan Leopold to a three-year contract and Shaone Morrisonn to a two-year deal. They also signed former Devils’ center Rob Niedermayer to a one-year contract. Despite the lack of a big-name signing, the team still possesses one of the best goalies in the game, Ryan Miller. The Sabres are always a tough matchup, and I would expect them to continue to be a tough opponent next season.
Okay read the rest of the piece ladies and gentlemen. Darren then counters with something that needs to be talked about every year by the NHL because they cannot help but to tinker with things and that is….RULES CHANGES!
It is something we joke about but my god, they have to do it all the time. I spotlight the final three for a purpose and reason.
Hexagon – Lets get rid of it. I know, I know, I am a Devils fan and this has impacted Marty Brodeur more than any other goalie in the league so why wouldn’t I be bringing this up? Seriously though, the rule is dumb, plain and simple. I am for allowing the goalie to go into the corners to get the puck but if a goalie leaves his crease and goes behind the goal line, then the opposing team is allowed to throw a check at him. There should be a risk for leaving your crease in order to play the puck and it shouldn’t have anything to do with where you can and can’t touch the puck.
Shootout – I personally would get rid of it because I don’t think there is anything wrong with a tie score, especially if you change the point values of a win vs OT but lets be realistic, its not going to happen. The NHL seems happy with having this in the game. Some people seem to want to make this longer and have 5 shooters but I don’t want to do that either. I say if you are keeping the shootout, then teams should be allowed to decide who shoots on the fly and not have to come up with a list prior to the start. Seems like a minor change but it keeps the goalies wondering who will be coming at them. Since I think the shootout stays, the points for a game should be: 3 Points for a win in regulation, 2 Points for a win in overtime and 1 Point for a win in a shootout. If you don’t win the game, you don’t get a point, even if you get to OT. If I really had my way, it would be 3 20 minute periods followed by a 10 min 4on4 OT and then a tie score if it wasn’t settled by then.
AND FINALLY….
Long Changes – The hardest part about the second period in a hockey game is the long change. In order to create more fatigue in the game, which opens up the game a little more, the long change should exist in periods 1 and 3 and not in period 2.
If you have not checked out RWTD, go do so today. It is another one of the great hockey blogs on Bloguin that deserves a ton more acclaim than it gets.
